Don Fernando de Alva Ixtlilxochitl, born circa 1578, was a court interpreter, governor, collector of manuscripts, and chronicler of preconquest and early colonial central Mexican history. Of Spanish and Nahua descent, through his mother he traced his ancestry to Nezahualcoyotl and Nezahualpilli, famed rulers of Tetzcoco, the number-two power in the Aztec empire. Indeed, Alva Ixtlilxochitl's textual machinations contributed greatly to Nezahualcoyotl's reputation as an exemplary jurist, philosopher, poet, prophet, and protomonotheist. While Alva Ixtlilxochitl's work has received critical attention in recent years from the editors of this volume and others, such as Jongsoo Lee and Galen Brokaw, his writings have not been available in English translation. Hence the present volume is very welcome. The editors' selection from Alva Ixtlilxochitl's corpus is the best choice for reaching a wide audience of students and nonspecialists.